man-eater

"Tell me about my nature", said the princess to the old blind man. And since she was very fond of hearing people talk about her she continued in the same vein: "Describe to me my true form, my very essence in first the most precise language, and then in the most perfect poetic idiom"

But the old man, who was no fool, resisted and could only stammer, "how can I describe such wonders?A blind man cannot even describe an elephant, so how to speak of your soul?" And the princess was pleased. Pass the word: the princess is pleased.

"But still", she said coyly, "my hair, is it straight or curly? Compare me to the moon again" Or have you lost your tongue as well as your sight?"

The blind man was not flustered since he had grown accustomed to such vanity. He just said, "How can I, who has neither seen your face nor touched your body, speak about that of which I have no knowledge?"

The princess was not so pleased by this answer. But she liked to tease him so because she knew that one day he would say what was in his heart.

"But, dear old man, everyone in the land talks about how fair I am. Why, then, are you miserly in your praise, why so reticent when it comes to expressing what needs be expressed?"

Then the old man saw in a vision a black crow, imagined her bosom rise and fall as if she was scared, her claws scratching and tearing his flesh, his eyes. Remembered his blindness. "I see it now"

"Tell, do tell!", she exclaimed excitedly.

"We, the two of us in this cage"

On hearing this crow knew the game was up and flew away as fast as she could. But now crow was in him, and he was in crow.